Stick-to-it-iveness

If only great ideas could stick like these do.

We’ve had magnetic knife rails for some time, but not for the key utensils that we pull out of a drawer after we’re done all our slicing and dicing. Once we’ve done our basic prep and we’re ready to head to the stove, we reach for the spoon, fork and spatula.

Here they are, and like none other.

This gorgeous beech set comes from Slovenia, which has a storied tradition of woodworking that the makers of this set would like to revive. They’re produced and designed by Leis, a Slovenian company that follows a sustainable, fair-trade business model that they like to keep local. Harvesting, design and manufacturing were conducted in a 30 km radius.

I first learned about this dish from Bonnie Stern, at a James Beard class paired up with Mitchell Davis. Although it’s a Middle Eastern classic — I think Bonnie was showing us her grandmother’s recipe [or was that her grandmother’s recipe for challah, which we also made that day?]. Either way, it struck me that this dish could pass as Italian. Simple ingredients, lovely flavours. Thanks to the Mediterranean for joining us up this way.

Mushrooms always take me immediately into the woods, even when they’ve been cultivated in faux-woods arrangements, as most of our commercial mushrooms are today. These babies are beech mushrooms, aka shimejis, and I see them in a light fry-up with some olive oil and a clove of garlic [whole, for aroma, and then hauled out, I’m done with you], tossed with linguini, a few chili flakes, cracked blacked pepper and shaved asiago. Here’s Cozy Kitchen doing soup instead.

You can’t tell by looking at it, but blue crab is what makes this a dish worth stopping for at Pennsylvania 6, near Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, if you’ll happen to be in NYC some time soon. Photo by Byron Smith for the WSJ.

China Latina is not just the name of chef Julieta Ballesteros’s new NYC restaurant at the Hotel Indigo. It’s a descriptor that also nails her fusion cuisine. Say hello to her wonton tacos. Photo: Ramsay de Give for WSJ.

Introducing this regular new feature, the food world’s equivalent to best practices in producing the final product, when a food presentation displays beautiful work in technical execution or great ideas, and when overall it evoke desire in the viewer.

The jam is the star here: a high concentration of flavour freshened up with some fresh fruit to finish.

I know. It’s just a statement of what it is and who should get credit. But bare-boned and to the point, there’s no more powerful message than that.

This lovely stuff calls to girly cupcakes everywhere, and also wedding cakes. Can it stand up to something richer, like maybe the chocolate mousse I served on a catering gig recently? Yup. In the chantilly cream garnish. Just enough girly juxtaposed to make rich dark chocolate even better.